I adore historical fiction, and this is such an interesting premise. I recommend because of the story itself, writing style, and its ability to transport you into a different world/time period.

Really enjoyed this book. Both time periods were engaging and I loved learning some Nashville history. Full review coming at www.novelpastimes.com

This was a most anticipated book for me.
I wasn't disappointed not by far.
Lots of good things in this book along with the spiritual messages. My favorite thing of course.
The true message and theme of this book could be a reminder for us all in real life. The world would be a much better place in my opinion.
I finished this book in one day because it was so good!
5 stars for a well written story and unforgettable characters.
The dual time line was awesome too of course.
I used to not like them because they confused me at times but now I do. I love seeing how they wrap up into one.
I admired Audra and Priscilla very much. Their strength and endurance are amazing.
I enjoyed their journey and I learned a lot!
The descriptions the author writs made me feel like I was along for the ride.
Thank you for another wonderful story. I didn't want to put it down. I was sad when it ended.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own

Count the Nights by Stars
by Michelle Shocklee
Pub Date: March 8, 2022
Tyndale House Publishers

“Count your night by stars, not shadows; count your life with smiles, not tears.” – Italian proverb

This is a great historical fiction book. This dual-timeline novel takes us to Nashville, Tennessee in both 1897 and 1961. In 1961, Audrey Whitfield is home from college after the death of her mother. She is helping out her grief-stricken father at the historic Maxwell House Hotel. While cleaning out the room of an elderly guest who has had a stroke, she finds a scrapbook of mementos from the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Hints of a long-ago romance, and possible evidence of the disappearance of young women at the exposition, start Audrey on an investigation into Nashville’s past. In 1897, Priscilla Nichols is staying at the Maxwell House Hotel and exploring the Tennessee Centennial Exposition with her driver, Luca Moretti, until a disappearance changes everything.
Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. I will be adding this to our library collection and highly recommend it. 5 stars

“Count your night by stars, not shadows; count your life with smiles, not tears.” – Italian proverb

Count the Nights by Stars is an immensely captivating historical fiction work infused with nuggets of Christian faith that not only entertains with a suspenseful story but challenges and encourages people to live a life without regret and make the world a better place. To actually “see” people. Audrey and Priscilla, while good of heart, never imagine they would push the norms of their day to stand up for those “who are beneath the pain. Beneath the sin. To see them as God sees them: a beautiful creation, with plans and purposes only he knows.” These two young women, while separated by generations, find their lives intertwined by a series of events and discoveries that change their lives and the lives of many others.


Michelle Shocklee transports her readers to two bygone eras at the famed Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, TN; the close of the 1800’s during the extravagant Tennessee Centennial Exposition and the civil rights movement of 1960s. The knitting back and forth of two distinctly different tales with a common thread storyline that is surprising chapter after chapter, reveals the skill she has as storyteller. Her beautifully detailed descriptions norms and scenes of each era, especially the Centennial Exposition, reveal her passion for history and made the Count the Nights by Stars a wonderful read. I could stop right now and give this five stars but then I would be forgetting the part of the experience that really touched me.


While I was intellectually impressed with this book I was most surprised by how moved I was emotionally as I followed the events that shaped Audrey and Priscilla. From gut-churning and heart-wrenching to the thrill of a new attraction or a deep abiding sacrificial love, Count the Nights by Stars had me feeling all of it (which would not have been bad had the waterworks not started while I was reading in a waiting room). This book truly encapsulates the roller coast of highs and lows, good and bad that life dishes out, with the caveat that “we cannot live in regrets. Choices were made that cannot be unmade.” While we would all like to understand many of the “whys” of the struggles and hurts in our lives we are “simply asked to trust in the One who does” to see us through. Count the Nights by Stars is a literary example of that faith, providing a much needed dose of inspiration and encouragement that you definitely don’t want to miss.

Former Christy Award finalist Shocklee (Under the Tulip Tree) presents another riveting historical romance centered at the famed Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville. The year is 1961 and Audrey Whitfield, daughter of the hotel’s manager, has returned home from college to help care for her disabled brother and grief-stricken father after her mother’s passing. When one of the Maxwell’s longtime elderly residents, Priscilla Nichols, falls ill and is moved to a nursing home, Audrey is tasked with sorting the private woman’s things. She discovers a scrapbook containing memorabilia from the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897. Within the scrapbook are a series of love letters describing events that took place on the first of the night exposition including the disappearance of a young immigrant woman. The narrative shifts between Audrey’s viewpoint as she enlists the help of handsome newcomer Jason Sumner to find out what really happened that night, to Priscilla’s perspective in 1897 as she meets and falls in love with the wrong man. The work is a spellbinding study of the horrors of discrimination and prejudice that lead to such evils as human trafficking, and the bravery of those who dare to make a difference. A timely and expertly crafted tale that will surely garner much attention.

in COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS, MICHELLE SHOCKLEE addresses such subjects as prostitution, class distinction and civil rights, against the backdrop of the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition in 1897 and the Maxwell House Hotel then, and also in 1961, when Audrey Whitfield and Jason Sumner clear out Miss Nichols’ room, coming across some interesting memorabilia including a scrapbook which shows them that there is a lot people didn’t know about the rather reclusive old lady in room 504. Miss Nichols’, now in hospital having had a stroke, makes Audrey “keeper of her memories.” When Audrey finally learns the truth about the old lady’s life she is inspired, and, like Priscilla sixty four years previously, comes to reevaluate her priorities.
In 1897 Priscilla Nichols and her parents stay at Nashville’s famous Maxwell House Hotel for the duration of Exposition. Her parents are wealthy and very conscious of their exalted position in society and are keen for their daughter to marry her childhood friend, Kenton Thornley. They are horrified when she seems to prefer the company of the handsome Italian carriage driver Luca and his sister Gia. There is a great deal of intrigue, excitement, suspense and danger, and a poignant romance..
It is a story about sacrificial love, showing compassion for others, forgiving oneself, living life without looking back in regret, and really seeing people as unique and precious, made in God’s image. The author reminds us through Mrs Meyer of “ the God Who Sees” who comforted Hagar in the desert, and we see this seeing people’s needs develop especially in Priscilla and later in Audrey as she is inspired by Miss Nichols’ story and Jason’s decision to become a civil rights lawyer. Her attitude towards her brain damaged brother Emmett also changes.
Count The Nights by Stars is a beautifully written, suspenseful , and inspirational read and one I cannot recommend highly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Tyndale House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.